Why Salespeople Fail – & a Free Sales Health Check

When I am asked to diagnose why an individual or even an entire team are not
performing at optimum levels, I usually ask just four very straightforward
questions:

Are they visiting/talking to enough clients/prospects? In other words are they
pro-active and are their activity levels high? I call this CCT as a percentage
of TWT (Customer Contact Time as a percentage of Total Working Time)

Are they talking to the right people within those client/prospect
organisations? Are they able to penetrate the formal DMU (Decision Making Unit)
and reach the MAN? (The person or people with the Money, Authority and Need)

Are they saying/doing the right things? This really means – how strong are
their selling skills?

And finally, how is their attitude – that small thing that makes such a big
difference.

From these four questions, I usually discover the answer but actually, it can
sometimes be a little more complex and I refer to the “Eight Reasons Why
Salespeople Fail”

Wrong or no selection process – The wrong person for the position.

Wrong or no training – Insufficiently developed.

Wrong or no planning – Expected to do all of their own planning.

Wrong or no supervision – Left without competent supervision.

Wrong or no motivation – Not properly motivated to meet objectives.

Wrong or no stimulation – Not stimulated by appropriate incentives.

Wrong or no evaluation – Not regularly appraised against a set of agreed
objectives.

Wrong or no executive action – Not adequately supported by a competent
manager.

If you are a sales manager, consider your part in this equation. According to
these criteria, do you feel your current team is poised for success? Hopefully
you can say yes! If not, this list will hopefully draw attention to how you can
help your team exercise their potential.

If you really want to discover how healthy your sales organisation is right now,
you can complete this FREE Health Check and receive an immediate score.

Jonathan Farrington is Chairman of The JF Corporation and CEO of Top Sales
Associates, based in London and Paris. He is also the creator and CEO of Top
Sales World and the man behind the Annual Top Sales Awards. More about Jonathan:
http://www.jonathanfarrington.com